Partner Site

Thursday, February 28, 2008

News sources say New York based Focus Capital was forced to sell its stocks which has sent down four Swiss mid cap stocks (Schulthess, Hiestand, Huber+Suhner, Forbo) down -39.96, -27.69, -26.50, and -25.00 percent since the beginning of the year. Of the SWX listed stocks (without the Virt-X stocks) these are 4 of the 10 worst beforming stocks this year.

Going back for two weeks, these four stocks account for four out of six of the worst performing stocks at the SWX (again without the Virt-X stocks). The two other bad performers are the two listed Lichtensteiner banks (Landesbank and VP Bank).

Wednesday, February 27, 2008

Looking at the Holcim 2007 full year numbers there are a very few items that let the company look not THAT cheap as it has been touted for a while in the press in Switzerland. Of course as stated in the income statement, the sale of the South African business with a profit of CHF 1249 mio, a huge minority interest, but then also a hefty currency translation charge directly to equity.

So unless I am wrong taking it all into account, this results in diluted earnings per share of CHF 9.45 (compared to the official CHF 14.73). With today's share price this results into a P/E multiple of 11.64.

I am not saying that this stock isn't a bargain or even a steal. Just the P/E multiple of 5.5 I was reading somewhere (Finanz und Wirtschaft) I have a hard time to believe.

Last Thursday Microsoft made a "Significant Company Announcement" to share some protocols with everyone and not to sue any open source developer bla bla bla, which made some people think: what could this all mean?!

Microsoft had earlier been fined after the commission determined in 2004 that the company had abused the dominance of its Windows operating system to gain unfair market advantage. The commission imposed the new fine Wednesday, it said, because the company had not met the prescribed remedies after the earlier judgment.

“Microsoft was the first company in 50 years of E.U. competition policy that the commission has had to fine for failure to comply with an antitrust decision,” the European competition commissioner, Neelie Kroes, said in a statement.

Saturday, February 23, 2008

You've seen my father's reaction in the films: He freaks out, he really hates it. Many times he just throws me out of the room or kicks me out of the house. And then there are the characters or subjects in my films. I was sued at one point and there are a number of other people in those films that feel that I was a traitor to the affluent class in some way--that I betrayed them.

So you're not part of that same social circle anymore?

Well, not entirely. I have a number of friends that are from that circle, but I find there is a suspicion of me among certain wealthy people now. Every now and then when I ask a question, something completely innocent just because I'm curious, people say, "What do you want to know for? What is this about?"

Friday, February 22, 2008

Actually Nicoles mother Mary coauthored a few books about Buffett and I think somehow to remember that Warren Buffett wasn't very amused about that fact either, as she was already divorced from his son Peter at that time.

Citadel Investment Group LLC -- Kenneth Griffin's Chicago- based hedge fund named to suggest a stronghold in volatile markets -- uses mathematical models and advanced computer systems to make investments that translate into about 5 percent of U.S. equity trading. D.E. Shaw & Co., which oversees $35 billion, relies on automated, 24-hour-a-day strategies that exploit shifts in asset prices around the world. The New York- based fund accounts for between 1 percent and 2 percent of trading at the NYSE....Citigroup Inc.'s Automated Trading Desk tries to predict prices for 8,000 stocks 30 seconds into the future to give the largest U.S. bank an edge on rivals....Credit Suisse Group, Switzerland's second-biggest bank, expanded its rapid-fire algorithmic trading programs to more than 30 countries and almost doubled its equity revenue over two years to 7.75 billion Swiss francs ($7.03 billion).

Lehman Brothers, the fourth-biggest U.S. securities firm by market value, climbed the ranks of brokers on exchanges in Frankfurt, Stockholm and Toronto after retooling its order- processing systems to reduce costs. The New York-based company was the top broker in Europe last year, up from third in 2005, and climbed 18 spots to No. 6 in Canada, according to Thomson Corp.'s Autex.